Dell Latitude ATG D620 User Guide - Page 12

Microsoft® Windows® Power Meter The Windows Power Meter indicates the remaining battery charge. To check the Power Meter, double-click the icon on the taskbar. If the computer is connected to an electrical outlet, a icon appears. Charge Gauge Before you insert a battery, press the status button on the battery charge gauge to illuminate the charge-level lights. Each light represents approximately 20 percent of the total battery charge. For example, if the battery has 80 percent of its charge remaining, four of the lights are on. If no lights appear, the battery has no charge. 1 battery 2 battery charge gauge Health Gauge The battery operating time is largely determined by the number of times it is charged. After hundreds of charge and discharge cycles, batteries lose some charge capacity, or battery health. To check the battery health, press and hold the status button on the battery charge gauge for at least 3 seconds. If no lights appear, the battery is in good condition, and more than 80 percent of its original charge capacity remains. Each light represents incremental degradation. If five lights appear, less than 60 percent of the charge capacity remains, and you should consider replacing the battery. See Specifications for more information about the battery operating time. NOTICE: To avoid losing or corrupting data, save your work immediately after a low-battery warning. Then connect the computer to an electrical outlet, or install a second battery in the media bay. If the battery runs completely out of power, hibernate mode begins automatically. A low-battery warning occurs when the battery charge is approximately 90 percent depleted. The computer beeps once, indicating that minimal battery operating time remains. During that time, the speaker beeps periodically. If two batteries are installed, the low-battery warning means that the combined charge of both batteries is approximately 90 percent depleted. The computer enters hibernate mode when the battery charge is at a critically low level. For more information about low-battery alarms, see Configuring Power Management Settings. Conserving Battery Power Perform the following actions to conserve battery power: l Connect the computer to an electrical outlet when possible because battery life is largely determined by the number of times the battery is used and recharged. l Place the computer in standby mode or hibernate mode (see Power Management Modes) when you leave the computer unattended for long periods of time. l Use the Power Management Wizard (see Configuring Power Management Settings) to select options to optimize your computer's power usage. These options can also be set to change when you press the power button, close the display, or press . NOTE: See Battery Performance for more information on conserving battery power. Power Management Modes Standby Mode Standby mode conserves power by turning off the display and the hard drive after a predetermined period of inactivity (a time-out). When the computer exits standby mode, it returns to the same operating state it was in before entering standby mode. NOTICE: If your computer loses AC and battery power while in standby mode, it may lose data.